Why did I think 'Brimful Of Asha' was a generally disliked song? I love it personally but I'm surprised for some reason to see so many other people saying the same :o

Why did I think 'Brimful Of Asha' was a generally disliked song? I love it personally but I'm surprised for some reason to see so many other people saying the same :o

No idea, it was very well thought of at the time and is still a bit of a classic.

 

I have a feeling that my fave ever number 1s (Robyn and Viva La Vida) will both be relegated. Boo.

I can understand why Brim Full of Asha could be seen as annoying - It is very repetative. I like it still.

Your threads are always great Gezza, but this thread is fantastic. The charts based on 3 weeks sales is something I've always wanted to work out myself if I had the appropriate information to hand so many thanks for doing this. The idea was touted briefly at some point when the singles chart was in decline to try and give it more stability and I personally thought it was possibly a good idea during the god awful days of new number one's every week (the majority of which have been forgotten by the general public). The other idea was also on working it out based on ratio of cost. It is without doubt that a significant amount of songs made no.1 only because they were available at a far cheaper price on that first week of release.

Sorry to focus on such a small part of your post but can you expand on this if possible? Touted by who? Merely the chart fans? Perhaps some record bosses complaining (about other labels frontloading their releases more and more)? I've certainly never heard anything about the chart compilers ever considering changing their 7-day sale system because of this issue so clearly any such suggestion was dismissed quite quickly.

Edited May 20, 201213 yr by superbossanova

Sorry to focus on such a small part of your post but can you expand on this if possible? Touted by who? Merely the chart fans? Perhaps some record bosses complaining (about other labels frontloading their releases more and more)? I've certainly never heard anything about the chart compilers ever considering changing their 7-day sale system because of this issue so clearly any such suggestion was dismissed quite quickly.

Wish I could give you the answer to this. It would have been around the period when there was genuine concerns that the singles chart was dying, not just due to the abysmal sales of the time but of the dwindling interest in the singles chart and the ridiculous weekly turnaround on the chart. Probably around the early to mid noughties. It would have very likely been within a Music Week article about the chart as it would have been before I was a member of any chart fan forum etc., and definitely before the download era commenced. Whether it was just an idea by the writer of the article or a record company exec or the chart compilers (which I agree is unlikely) I do not recall but it always stuck in my head as I thought it would definitely be interesting to see how that would pan out. If I had hours and hours to spare I would try and hunt it out as I have all my old Music Weeks in boxes in the attic but unfortunately I don't, maybe one day. The idea appealed to me as I loved the way the chart moved in the 70's and 80's so I was never a fan of the new number 1 each week and the dozens of new entries each week as you never got chance to grow to like a song before it disappeared again. Certainly don't think it was an idea that would have been seriously considered though.

 

Wow this is an interesting thread Gezza7T6.

 

I actually did a similar project once, but not having sales data to hand I simply disqualified the new entry week for every single in order to filter out new entries at the top that weren't then sustained in later weeks in preference to more consistent singles who hung around at the top end for longer. It came up with similar results though and had the benefit of being calculateable for the entire history of the chart (apart of course from the very first week which no longer exists under my system). It's also possible in real time as it has no need for future weeks sales and can be worked out direct from the same weeks real chart, and of course that also ensures that singles are not charting before their actual release.

Without wishing to steal Gezza7T6's thunder here's how my system would've panned out in 1997

18/01/1997 Tori Amos (2wks)

01/02/1997 White Town (1wk)

08/02/1997 No Mercy (3wks) *

01/03/1997 No Doubt (3wks)

22/03/1997 Spice Girls (3wks)

12/04/1997 R Kelly (4wks)

10/05/1997 Cardigans (2wks) *

24/05/1997 Katrina and the Waves (1wk) *

31/05/1997 Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli (1wk) *

07/06/1997 Eternal ft Bebe Winans (1wk)

14/06/1997 Hanson (3wks)

05/07/1997 Puff Daddy and Faith Evans ft 112 (7wks)

23/08/1997 Will Smith (4wks)

20/09/1997 The Verve (1wk)

27/09/1997 Elton John (5wks)

01/11/1997 Aqua (5wks)

06/12/1997 Various Artists for Children In Need (2wks)

20/12/1997 The Teletubbies (2wks)

*=New Number One under my system.

 

What do you guys think? Would anyone be interested in me doing a thread based on this (with mods permission having been sought obviously), perhaps I could start at the beginning of the chart era to avoid a clash with this thread, though granted variations are gonna be thin on the ground in the early years.

 

Interesting. There are sound reasons for elimination of week 1 sales for each single in 1997 because they were being sold at a reduced price in week 1 - so it becomes a "Full Price"Chart

 

Edited May 21, 201213 yr by tonyttt31

What do you guys think? Would anyone be interested in me doing a thread based on this (with mods permission having been sought obviously), perhaps I could start at the beginning of the chart era to avoid a clash with this thread, though granted variations are gonna be thin on the ground in the early years.

Interesting idea- Yes there are several ways of doing an "alternative chart" perhaps it might be an idea to either post your chart at the end of mine or do an alternative thread once this is over (I just think more than one thread running at one time might confuse people re: which method we're using) :D

OK Gezza7T6 I'll wait till a later time to do my thread, and enjoy your excellent thread in the mean time. That gives me time to recompile everything as it's years since I did it originally and I need to dig out my notes and update.

BOYZONE- ALL THAT I NEED- NON NUMBER ONE

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KCG5A6DEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

NEW PEAK POSITION: 3

 

Another track that few will complain about, Boyzone's third No 1 gets demoted here unable to crack into the top 2 against a combo of the tamperer/ All saints and the outgoing No 1 from Run DMC who lucklily managed to make a healthy 7 week chart topper on this revised chart. Then again a quick exit 1-4-14 didn't help its longevity having little appeal beyond their admittedly large fanbase.

 

AQUA- TURN BACK TIME- NON NUMBER ONE

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/Turn_Back_Time.gif

 

NEW PEAK POSITION: 3

 

My personal favourite track from the scandinavian pop group this was of course used in the film "Sliding Doors" a link that wasn't exactly played down in the promo and helped it to become their thrid No 1 on the trot. Not so on this chart where that week above All Saints just isn't good enough to top the survey the track apparently samples Pet Shop Boys "Heart" though I can't hear it myself...

 

 

BILLIE- BECAUSE WE WANT TO- NON NUMBER ONE

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Because_We_Want_To.jpg

 

NEW PEAK POSITION: 3

 

1998's starting to look decidedly less poppy by the entry as a young Billie Piper finds herself stripped of her debut No 1 track. During the traditional summer lull it took just 80k to debut at the top in July on its way to eventual sales of just over 300k, whilst she bacame the youngest female to debut at No 1 she wasn't quite the youngest female ever to be at No 1 that record remains with Helen Shapiro.

 

Wish I could give you the answer to this. It would have been around the period when there was genuine concerns that the singles chart was dying, not just due to the abysmal sales of the time but of the dwindling interest in the singles chart and the ridiculous weekly turnaround on the chart. Probably around the early to mid noughties. It would have very likely been within a Music Week article about the chart as it would have been before I was a member of any chart fan forum etc., and definitely before the download era commenced. Whether it was just an idea by the writer of the article or a record company exec or the chart compilers (which I agree is unlikely) I do not recall but it always stuck in my head as I thought it would definitely be interesting to see how that would pan out. If I had hours and hours to spare I would try and hunt it out as I have all my old Music Weeks in boxes in the attic but unfortunately I don't, maybe one day. The idea appealed to me as I loved the way the chart moved in the 70's and 80's so I was never a fan of the new number 1 each week and the dozens of new entries each week as you never got chance to grow to like a song before it disappeared again. Certainly don't think it was an idea that would have been seriously considered though.

Thanks for the info anyway. :) If it was a Music Week article it's possible it might be online somewhere. I know the Music Week site allows you to search back to view articles that were posted on their website going back to the early 2000s (including loads of old sales reports if anyone is so geekily inclined).

 

Interesting idea- Yes there are several ways of doing an "alternative chart" perhaps it might be an idea to either post your chart at the end of mine or do an alternative thread once this is over (I just think more than one thread running at one time might confuse people re: which method we're using) :D

Another "alternative" system I know of that has a similar affect is used on the Everyhit retro charts - which unfortunately stopped being updated in 2008, but you can still view the old ones - page, which splits each month into three parts, while assigning some kind of points system (or at least I suspect so, considering Candle in the Wind, for example, only debuted at #4 on their chart!). I am not sure how it's done though, presumably a lot of the weeks have to be cut somehow, perhaps using % of weekly points depending on the days, as obviously it's impossible to perfectly split all of the charts compiled in a month in three like that.

 

Having just checked, it hasn't been that different to this thread thus far either, with a few minor differences... and also might give clues to what could be relegated here. :P

 

I've seen a similar system to DanChartFan's being posted on another forum years ago. Not sure how I feel about cutting the first week out entirely, though I can see the logic behind it and it's still interesting in its own way. Couldn't help but notice the quirk of Katrina & The Waves going to #1 because of it due to the unusual release strategy/promotion for a 1997 single though!

Edited May 21, 201213 yr by superbossanova

Actually superbossanova having looked at the chart of 24/05/1997 again to provide more info it turns out I made a mistake that week and should've listed Olive's second week at number one, instead of dropping to no3 for Katrina. :banghead: Sorry, seems I need that extra time to double check everything for errors.... :blush:

I thought Turn Back Time would be demoted. One of my fave no.1s but it's chart run was poor.

ANOTHER LEVEL- FREAK ME- NON NUMBER ONE

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Another_Level_-_Freak_Me.jpeg

 

NEW PEAK POSITION: 2

 

Poor Another level, their only UK no 1 single gets demoted here though it held up better than both Jamiroquai and Billie chart wise moving 1-2-4-6 in it's first month. In truth it was another chart topper that didn't break the 100k mark in its debut week the kiss of death for sole chart toppers in 1998 at any rate, of course it's a cover of 1992 chart topper in the US anyway for short lived band Silk.

 

11.07.98 PRAS MICHEL FT ODB & MYA- GHETTO SUPASTAR (THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE)- NEW NUMBER ONE (2 Wks)

 

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/63d97fef8d06f0317fa5805c25d57dba/212903.jpg

 

With Superbossanova quickly becoming the soothsayer of this thread it is with some trepadation that this is promoted to the No 1 position and denying both Billie and Another level of their respective chart toppers. To be honest it was everywhere this summer and so probably deserves its promotion, it certainly outsold both of those prior mentioned hits ending 1998 as the 9th biggest selling single and earning him first bragging rights in the ex fugees battle for chart supremacy. Featuring in the film "Bulworth" and heavily sampling "Islands In The Stream" must have helped too.

 

 

JAMIROQUAI- DEEPER UNDERGROUND- NON NUMBER ONE

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Deeper-underground.jpg

 

NEW PEAK POSITION: 2

 

The success of "Ghetto Superstar" along with the fantastic first week sales of "Viva Forever" spells the demotion of Jamiroquai's sole chart topper "Deeper Underground". Despite its inclusion in the movie "Godzilla" and having the most expensive promo ever made by a UK act it can't salvage it in this thread or indeed in the charts of the time where the song was out of the top 20 just 5 wks after release, in terms of public recognition I think this has pretty much slipped out of everyone's mind now....

 

I've just realised... is Gooddelta FINALLY going to see Better Off Alone get to #1? :D

 

I've just realised... is Gooddelta FINALLY going to see Better Off Alone get to #1? :D

 

How very rude. :angry:

 

That should say "are Gooddelta and Hits...".

 

Forgotton!!! :cry: